Louisiana School Report Cards Issued

Louisiana School Report Cards Issued

On Thursday, Louisiana Education Superintendent John White announced a decrease in the number of failing schools across the state, from 12% to 8%

Across north Louisiana five school districts scored a 'B,' seven scored a 'C,' and the remaining four scored a 'D,' under the new 2012-2013 school and district performance plan.

A plan that the Louisiana Federation of Teachers do not agree with. They issued a statement saying that giving these single letter grades to schools ignores individual schools' missions.

This year, Ouachita Parish scored a 'B.' This ranks them 12th out of about 70 school districts. The highest area of improvement was seen in middle school grades.

Four Ouachita Parish District Middle Schools each scored 'A's.

"We've never had more than one in the past," said Dr. Bob Webber, Superintendent of Ouachita Parish Schools. "So we're very pleased with that. And one of those schools, west ridge middle school, actually ended up out of 36 schools number one in our district."

Coming in at number one is a first for West Ridge Middle School. Good Hope Middle School in Ouachita Parish also scored an 'A.'

"I'm super excited for them because the teachers, more than anybody, the teachers the students and the parents have really worked hard and it's paid off for us," said Twainna Calhoun, Principal for Good Hope Middle School.

Principal Calhoun attributes the school's 'A' grade to eliminating classroom interruptions and focusing on each kid.

"The teachers are adding more depth, not necessarily more work, just making it more challenging to the students," Calhoun explained.

On the other hand, high school scores have taken a dip in Ouachita Parish. Superintendent Webber blames it on changes to the ACT.

"All juniors are required to take the ACT whether they plan to attend college or not," Webber said. "And anything under an 18 and you didn't get any points at all for taking the act."

Last year, three Ouachita Parish Schools scored an F. This year, there were two: Shady Grove Elementary and Swayze Elementary.

"In both of those, we've added personnel. We've made sure their classrooms are smaller so that we can be as efficient and as effective as we possibly can," Webber explained. "I think the principals made some good hires at those two schools and we're going to see improvement next year."

Principal Calhoun agrees that good instructors are the key to better scoring schools.

"Recruit great teachers who want to be here, who want to come in and work with kids because sometimes it can get rough especially with our education system in Louisiana, we get so much negativity," said Calhoun.